Sergey Gandzha

By Sergey Gandzha and Anton Kotov

The chapter shows the prospects for the development of alternative energy. The growth rate of wind energy is ahead of other types of alternative energy, but the development of wind energy is constrained by a number of technical contradictions that need to be solved. The main problem of wind power is that the power and direction of the wind flow are continuously changing. This leads to the fact that the frequency of rotation of the generator constantly varies and alternator produces energy with nonstandard parameters in amplitude, frequency and phase. Converting this energy into energy with standard parameters is a difficult technical task. A brief analysis of the different directions to solve this problem is shown. It is proved that the promising direction of solving this problem from the point of view of efficiency is the use of double-fed induction alternator (DFIA). The chapter describes the principle of operation of the DFIA, the theory of energy conversion based on equivalent circuits. Approaches to the optimal design of generators based on generalized variables are shown. Two variants of the generator design are described. One option is to contain an additional exciter generator to power the rotor. The design of this 10 kW generator is presented. In another version, the power supply function of the rotor is performed by the battery. In addition, the battery performs the function of accumulation of electricity. It is concluded that the development of wind power in the direction of the DFIA is promising. On the basis of the proposed concept, a number of wind power plants can be built with power from 10 kW to 6 MW. DFIA can operate in standalone mode and in conjunction with electrical grid. The design for the range of wind turbines will be the same type. The DFIA will differ only in size.

Part of the book: Aerodynamics